THE PRESIDENT: Today we'll have a statement. I'm going to make a
statement, George will make a statement, no questions.

George, welcome. I'm honored to have you here. You represent our
nation's most important alliance, NATO. Today, this alliance is
providing equipment to Turkey to help protect our Turkish ally from a
potential attack from Iraq.

I want to thank you for your leadership. You've done a fantastic
job of keeping this alliance together, moving it forward -- by not
only addressing the current threats that we face, but preparing NATO to
address threats into the future. And I congratulate on a great
leadership and welcome you back to the Oval Office.

LORD ROBERTSON: Thanks, Mr. President. On the 12th of September,
NATO passed a declaration of Article V of the Washington Treaty. We
came to the aid of an ally, the United States, under threat, under
attack.

And today we've sent AWACS aircraft and Patriot missiles and chem,
bio and defensive equipment to Turkey, another ally, in trouble, under
threat, asking for help. That's what the alliance of free nations is
all about.

Sometimes we -- you know, we can take a bit of time to do it. It
reminded me of Winston Churchill, whose bust is over there, who once
famously said of the United States of America: The United States can
always be counted on to do the right thing, after it's exhausted every
other alternative. (Laughter.)

Well, you can say exactly the same thing about NATO, but when we
get there, we're strong and we stand for the values that unite a great
alliance.